The military quickly decided that Oktyabrskaya’s story would be a great source of propaganda. So, they allowed Oktyabrskaya to keep her tank. But they were skeptical that a woman would actually be able to use a tank effectively. So while other tank crews were rushed to the front with little training, they insisted that Oktyabrskaya spend at least five months learning to drive Fighting Girlfriend. Even though she now had more training than most men in the army, other tank drivers assumed that the entire thing was a publicity stunt. And to the government, at least, it was.
But in 1943, Oktyabrskaya was sent to the front to fight in the region of Smolensk. And everyone, especially the Germans, would soon realize how dangerous a vengeful widow with a tank can be. Oktyabrskaya was in position with other Soviet tanks outside of the city of Smolensk when a wave of German armor came rolling towards them. And if the other tank crews expected that Fighting Girlfriend wasn’t actually going to do any fighting, they were dead wrong. Oktyabrskaya immediately revved up the massive engine on her T-34 and drove straight toward the advancing German tanks.
Oktyabrskaya’s tank rolled across the battlefield destroying everything the crew could put their gunsights on. Fighting Girlfriend obliterated machine gun nests, artillery emplacements, and German armor. But in the middle of the battle, the tank was hit with gunfire that disabled the treads. Her superiors ordered Oktyabrskaya to sit tight and wait for help. Instead, she leaped out of the tank into the storm of metal that was raging outside and began fixing the tank herself. Once Fighting Girlfriend was running again, Oktyabrskaya jumped into the driver’s seat and got right back to blowing up Nazis.
By the time the smoke cleared, Oktyabrskaya had destroyed six German self-propelled tank guns and lead a breakthrough into the German lines. It was obvious by now that Oktyabrskaya wasn’t just a source of publicity, she was one of the Soviet’s most effective tank leaders. They promoted her to Sergeant soon after. Shortly after her first battle, she wrote to her sister saying, “I’ve had my baptism by fire. I beat the bastards.” Most importantly, she still wanted revenge for all the pain the Germans had caused in the Soviet Union. “Sometimes,” she wrote, “I’m so angry I can’t even breathe.” And she was prepared to do everything she could to make the Nazis pay.
Oktyabrskaya was thrown back into the action a month later when the Soviets tried to capture the city of Vitebsk. Fighting Girlfriend was one of the tanks that lead the attack on the city. Oktyabrskaya steered the tank into the thick of the action, destroying German positions left and right. Once again, the enemy’s fire disabled the tank and Oktyabrskaya ordered the crew to cover her with a machine gun while she jumped out of the tank to fix it. It was an act that showed her extreme personal courage, especially since she’d now done it twice. But it was also the thing that would get her killed.